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Iron Maiden Aces High Spitfire Mk.II (07047) 1:32 Revell The Spitfire II was created when the early mark I Spitfire was fitted with the new 1,175 HP Merlin XII engine, but enough about that! In 1984 Iron Maiden released their fifth studio album "Powerslave". Track one on this album was "Aces High" with the lyrics being written from the view point of an RAF Battle Of Britain Pilot. The art work for this song features the bands mascot "Eddie the Head" in the cockpit of a Spitfire. Aces High would go on to be one of the bands most popular songs and would often feature as the opening song for concerts. The Kit This is a re-release of Revell's 2014 new tool kit with a new spure containing two "Eddie" figures and a new decal sheet. If building the kit with the seated "Eddie" at the controls then the first thing for the modeller to do is build that figure. Next up the cockpit for him to sit in is built up. and said Eddie can be placed in. After a few extra parts are included in the fuselage sides, and the tail wheel is added; the cockpit can be placed inside the fuselage and it closed up. Next up the wing are made up. There is one single lower, and left/right uppers. The main wheel wells must be placed inside the wings before the go together. They can now be added to the fuselage. The tailplanes and their control surfaces are now made up, and along with the rudder can be added to the fuselage. The ailerons are also added to the wings at this time., with the wing tips going on also. On the underside of the fuselage the underside part of the engine cowling completes that. Flaps can then be added either in the open or closed positions. On the underside of the wings the oil cooler and main radiator are added along with the centre line carb intake. The engine exhausts can then go on as well. Next up the main landing gear is constructed and added to the aircraft. The cockpit door goes on either open, or closed and the canopy is attached. Last up the prop is made up and placed on the front. Revell have also supplied a standing Eddie figure if you don't want to use the sitting one, or if you want to use both! Markings There are markings for the aircraft in the video and the aircraft for the stage show. These are printing in Italy by Cartograf so should pose no problems. Conclusion It's always good to see a Spitfire kit, even more so this one. Very Highly recommended if you are an Iron Maiden fan. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Aces High Magazine. WW1 Centenary. Perhaps best known for their paints and weathering products, AK Interactive have now moved into publishing their own aviation modelling magazine 'Aces High'. Issue 2 is themed 'WW1 Centenary' and is devoted to models from that era. Five different aircraft builds are featured in 1/32 and 1/48, these being the DH.2, Sopwith Pup, and Hannover CL.II form Wingnut Wings, and Fokker DR.1 and Nieuport 23 from Eduard. More than this though, there is a feature on figure painting, a 1/32 fuel cart, and a 1/72 Mack Bulldog truck. This is a great idea, as although many of us are primarily aircraft builders, we like to add accessories and figures to our showcases. The magazine seems to be squarely aimed at people who actually build their models, as there is only minimal text to introduce each subject. The bulk of the pages are reserved to explain and illustrate how to achieve some of those tricky results that you see on top class models. Sequences of photographs are used to show step by step how to build and paint an engine for example, or wooden propeller, or wheels, and so on. I particularly like the section explaining how the Wingnut Wings Hannover was rigged, as this is an area I know I need to improve on myself. I really like this method of explanation, several times I found myself thinking 'oh, so that is how it is done' as I read through the articles. Each finished model is shown from several angles, the DH.2 is a particularly impressive piece of work. The printing throughout is on good quality glossy paper, with full colour photographs and supporting text keyed to each picture. 72 pages are provided, of which only 6 are used for advertisements, and that includes the back cover with a rather nice Wingnut Wings ad on! 'Aces High' is available through AK Interactive's own website, and I notice that Amazon and EBay also list it. The 'Next issue' teaser at the back of issue 2 tells us that issue 3 will be themed on late war Japanese fighters, figures, and vehicles. This is a very impressive new magazine, clearly written by modellers for modellers, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you get hold of a copy and see for yourself. It's a good read and you are almost certainly going to pick up some very useful new tips. Review sample courtesy of